Gather Here:History for young people

Gather Here is a place to collect, create and share Northwest regional history resources serving the needs of 3rd-5th grade students. An imprint of Homeostasis Press.

About our project

Welcome to

Gather Here: History for Young People

an imprint of Homeostasis Press

The history of the Pacific Northwest is rich and diverse, and there is a need for curriculum serving younger students.

Valerie Stein’s experience as a school librarian has highlighted the need for more history written for younger students. Conversations with teachers since the project launched in 2015 have identified specific needs in the classroom, and we’re working to fill those needs at Gather Here. Mackey, one of Valerie's graduates, expresses his own needs as a student:

"I wish a tool like Gather Here had existed during my history education in elementary and middle school. Though we did have some research direction in class, most of my "take-aways" from history lessons were corroborated from a variety of difficult-to-locate sources. If there had existed a unified resource, or "treasure trove" of links, historical fiction and other relevant information, it would have been much easier to carry out research." - Mackey G., Edmonds, Washington

The high-quality eBook short works we offer for sale help to pay for site hosting and development of further resources for classroom use.

Gather Here's goal is to collect, craft and share Northwest regional history resources from diverse cultural perspectives that serve the needs of 8-13 year old students.

Through our work with educators, cultural representatives and historians, we aim to build a collection that helps young people to make connections between their own lives and the history of the Pacific Northwest region.

Japanese Americans using postal service at Puyallup Assembly Center for letters and packages.

Photo from U.S. Army, Western Defense Command and Fourth Army.

*No known restrictions on publication.

T.A. Leonard Barn

The T.A. Leonard Barn is significant because it represents a period of agricultural development when farmers were experimenting with new production concepts and ideas to offset the rising demand of urbanization. The round barn form is a physical manifestation of the need and desire for a more convenient and efficient farming operation. Located on the eighty year-old family farm in the wheat-producing Palouse region, the Leonard Barn has remained relatively unchanged in its original form and rural context. It is one of two round barns remaining in Whitman County and one of ten remaining in Washington State. Building/structure dates: 1917 Initial Construction.

Source: Library of COngress Prints and Photographs Division.

*No known restrictions on publication.n

Resource Links

Our list of links to resources continues to grow. You can suggest or request new resources for us to share by alerting us through our contact page. Hover over bold print for a new link.

The Public Library in Everett, Washington has a wonderful Northwest History collection. Here is the link to their digital collection, where you can find out more about topics in local history. If you need to know more, you can contact the library’s History Specialists and get help researching your topic.

Links in this PDF support specific student research topics for a collaborative historical novel covering the events of the Everett Massacre. This resource list was based on the content of the drafts of the novel, where further research was needed.

You can access the page for a wide variety of types of information. Here is a link to get you started with lesson plans. This link is to an interesting series of podcasts called “Tapestry of the Times,” which the site describes as “... tours through the wide-ranging sound archives of Smithsonian Folkways Recordings. Real music, real people, and the stories behind the sounds.”

Need maps or other images from the past? The New York Public Library released over 20,000 maps to the public in 2014. This article contains the link to the Digital Collection Page, but also connects you to other tools and resources associated with the collection.

Indian-Ed.org - Since Time Immemorial: Tribal Sovereignty in Washington State

The lesson plans and other resources are part of Washington State's new initiative, bringing the history of Sovereignty to public school classrooms through the lens of place-based learning. The Curriculum Pageis newly updated to include lessons about both Washington state and US history from early learning through Higher Education levels.

This site contains history of food, but also access to recipes and cookbooks. Its linear layout is helpful, and there is also an index. There are several sites dealing with food history but this is most comprehensive.

Seattle's Museum of History and Industry offers a wide range of exhibits, services and events. It is a great place for folks of all ages. The Learnpage is a good place to find out more about educational programs, but you can also search the photo or research archives and visit the online exhibits through links on the site.

The Burke Museum

The Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture is the oldest public museum in Washington State. Their focus falls into three areas: education, research, and cultural heritage, and theircollection of artifacts serves a wide variety of patrons, from school age chidlren to researchers around the world. If you're a classroom teacher in Washington State and you're too far away to visit the museum on the University of Washington campus, the Burke Museum's travelling services might be just right for you. You can rent a Burke Boxor arrange for the BurkeMobile to come to your school.

The Northwest African American Museum offers learning opportunities especially through engagement with programming centered around its exhibits. They offer hands-on workshops for students K-5 and Youth Curator programs for older students. Order a Story Trunkfor your classroom, or visit the Curriculum page for free teaching materials. Check out the links to other museums and resources, like BlackPast.org, on the Web Resources page.

The Klondike Gold Rush museum is part of a National Park that includes not only the Seattle Unit, but sites in Alaska as well. The Park itself hosts regular programs for the public only in summer, but you can reserve and education visit during the school year.Connect through the Klondike link to The National Parks Service website, which is extensive and takes visitors to more links than can be listed here. Start on the Teachers page for links to the types of educational materials available through the National Parks Service, including Teaching with Historical Places for students grades 5-12, and online archaeology activities for middle grade students.

In addition to Family Day and Teen programs, there is a monthly story theater for all ages. Go to the Educator's page to find out about all the resources available for teachers.

There are not only curriculum boxes available to rent for your classroom, but the museum offers Educator Special Previews, designed to allow you to take a guided tour of exhibits prior to your group’s visit in order to tailor the experience to your needs. Booking a speaker from the Speakers Bureau to appear during your group’s tour can further enhance your visit.

El Centro de la Raza

El Centro de la Raza provides a different sort of resource than most of the links shared here, but their mission and practice are very important in our community and in our history. You can find out about the center on their extensive website, and even sign up for a breakfast tour to find out more about what the program and vision are about.

We’re honored to have been given the opportunity to share images of the murals gracing the walls of the center, along with their historical background and symbolism here. We’re working on adding this piece to our resources soon. In the meantime, here is a link to Nuestra Historia, Nuestra Comunidad, a video project funded by 4Culture to share El Centro de la Raza's history.

As with many local museums, you can borrow an Outreach Trunk for your classroom. Each trunk includes a listing of the Washington State EALRs addressed in its contents. Visit the museum for a guided tour, or take a self-guided tour with your class, and go on a scavenger hunt. Download teacher packets here, too. Music, dance and Nordic story programs are some of the other activities provided by the museum.

Visit the Puget Sound Navy museum for a variety of educational activities, including a wide range of opportunities for Scout troops in addition to families and teachers bringing classes. Check out the Navy STEM Days or other items in this listing, which include pre-and post-visit activities, as well as scavenger hunts and others related to the Navy Museum. You can book someone from the Speakers’ Bureau for your group, or email an archivist on staff by using the Contact Page for answers to your maritime research questions (we've done this, and the folks there are very helpful!). They have research materials on site by arrangement, as well.

Curriculum

About our curriculum sets

Our articles and short stories are created for use in the educational setting, using Washington State History Standards as our guide.

These materials are downloadable in PDF format. Accessible documents available upon request. Hover over each item for the link to download or purchase.

Have a question, comment or suggestion? Reach out on our contact page.

Great Seattle Fire (free)

Author Julie Artz. Explore the Seattle Underground and learn the history of the Great Seattle Fire.

Author Mark Holtzen. If you're a baseball fan, you'll want to read this article about the interesting and diverse history of the sport in the Pacific Northwest. Includes a rich collection of photographs.

Author Mark Holtzen shares his family’s own journey of discovery as they explore installations of The Confluence Project along part of the Lewis and Clark Trail. Follow their trek through Washington and Oregon to explore the current sites of artist Maya Lin’s interactive public art installations. Lin worked with local tribes to design these works celebrating the history, communities, and ecology of The Columbia River system.

Author Ann Haberlach Chenhall. Sisters Dorothy and Carolyn witness a frightening event as their father, Carl, is threatened with being run out of town simply for being a German during World War I. In this fictionalized story of a family story set in Tillamook, Oregon, the author raises the question of how history is recorded, and how we must examine our sources of information carefully in order to understand larger events.

Author Susan Frederick. When a group of kids finds a baby owl in the woods, they uncover tensions they had not realized existed in their community. With the help of their teacher, the students explore the history behind the controversy of the endangered spotted owl and the decline of the logging industry that had been the livelihood of many in the town for decades.

We love to work with teachers to help put history into context for their students. As we find more opportunities to collaborate in these ways, we are excited to share some of the work that comes out of these experiences.

The collaborative novel can be a powerful teaching tool. See our blog postabout this project.

While the collaborative novels are written by students in upper grades (7th and 8th grades), much of the work we are able to do together is very easily adaptable for younger students. While it's a large undertaking, the learning students demonstrated after digging into historical events in order to tell a story set in a specific time period was remarkable. Hover over the title in bold to access the link to the novel.

** Note: If you need to access any of our files in a format other than PDF for accommodation, please feel free to reach out through our Contact page.

Students in the 8th grade class came up with their plot points and sent questions based on their story ideas to Everett Library Archivists before their field trip to sites of the Wobblies Massacre. When they spent research time at the library, their questions were answered in advance, which allowed us to spend more time on details of the historical period as they were integrated into the story. We have determined that spending the whole day on this field trip to the massacre site, other historical landmarks of note, and the library would be a very good use of time, since the archivists are so knowledgeable and there is so much information available about Labor Unions and the Wobblies Massacre at the Everett Library.

Written collaboratively as part of an oral history unit, this full-length play also includes songs composed by the students as well as stage and prop directions. This script is shared as it was used by the class to mount a production of the play as their final assessment of the Unit.

We're glad you came! You can join our mailing list or ask us a question by using the Contact page.